


A Square Meal

by okay_klepto



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Canon Universe, Fatherly Arthur, Fluff, Gen, Jack looks up to Arthur more than anyone, uncle Arthur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-12 15:41:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19232089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okay_klepto/pseuds/okay_klepto
Summary: Much to Abigail's despair, Jack is getting to the age when he gets pickier and pickier about what he eats, and it doesn't help that Pearson isn't exactly a world class chef.  Luckily, Jack's favorite uncle is there to help him along with this evening's dinner so he can enjoy some dessert!





	A Square Meal

**Author's Note:**

> I'll do better editing later...

   “I’m not going to tell you again, Jack!”  Abigail stood up from the table. “Eat your dinner!”

   “I don’t wanna!”  Jack whined, kicking his feet under the table.  “I don’t like it!”

   “I don’t care!  You’re going to sit and eat or you’ll go to bed with no dinner and no dessert!  And I can’t sit here and yell at you all night! I have things to do!”

   Abigail left in a huff, throwing her bowl and spoon in the wash basin as she walked away.  Jack stared down at the chili Pearson had made for dinner that night. Jack hated everything about it: the beans, the meat, the tomatoes, the fact that his mother was forcing him to eat it.  Even the cornbread that he had to go with it was terrible. Jack picked up his little spoon and stirred the chili around, whining in his throat and squirming in his seat. Maybe he could get a wild animal to come over an eat it for him, but Jack didn’t want an innocent creature getting sick.

   “Hey there, Jack!”

   Jack looked up to see Arthur approaching him with a big smile on his face, and an even bigger bowl of chili in his hand.

   “Hi, Uncle Arthur…”  Jack turned his attention back to his “meal.”

   “What’s wrong?  Ain’t you hungry?”

   Jack shook his head and kept kicking his legs from under the table.

   “You’re not hungry?  Are you feelin’ alright?”

   “I'm fine,” Jack whispered.

   Arthur watched Jack for another moment.  His face was turned down, and he seemed more interested in kicking blades of grass than eating, which was odd for Jack who always seemed to be hungry.  But Abigail had griped about Jack not wanting to eat as much anymore, or at least getting picky about his food.

   “You not like the chili?”  Arthur asked gently, stirring his meal.

   Jack nodded.

   “But Mama’s still makin’ you eat it?”

   Jack nodded once again.

   “Well, you gotta eat so you can grow up to be big and strong.  Here.” Arthur leaned over and scooped a big scoop of chili out of Jack’s bowl.  “I’ll help ya.”

   Jack watched with wide eyes as Arthur shoved the whole spoonful into his mouth.

   “Mmmmm!”  Arthur smiled as he swallowed the chili.  “See, Jack? It’s really good! Put the cornbread in it, too - helps it not taste like sand.  I know you can finish it.”

   Jack watched Arthur’s every movement; he crumbled his huge slice of cornbread in his hands and let it fall into his bowl, stirring everything together before taking an enormous bite.  He took a swig of water before opening this newspaper and starting to read.

   Jack looked back down at his chili.  He picked up a spoonful of beans and meat and let it fall back into the bowl.  It was gross... but Arthur was eating it. Jack looked at Arthur eating and reading.  Uncle Arthur said eating the chili would make him grow up to be big and strong, and he wanted to be big and strong just like Uncle Arthur.  He was tall and strong and kind and always made people smile. If it meant he had to eat the chili, Jack was more than willing to try.

   Jack broke up his cornbread just like Arthur did, wiping the crumbs off on his pants, and stirred it in with the chili, making a terrible looking concoction.  Jack took a small spoonful and eyed it wearily. He watched Arthur take another huge bite and gathered his courage. Jack shoved the spoonful into his mouth and began to chew.  He hated how the bean burst into paste in his mouth, and how sour the tomatoes were, but adding the cornbread wasn’t so bad. Jack forced himself to swallow and went in for another bite.

   “Have you read any good books?”  Arthur asked, glancing up from his article.

   “Not really…”  Jack replied, stirring his food.

   “Oh?  Find any neat bugs?”

   “No.  Sean showed me how to catch salamanders.”

   “That sounds like fun!”

   “I guess so…”

   “I saw a bald eagle in her nest the other day,” Arthur continued.  “The birds are gonna be hatchin’ babies soon. You’ll see lots of baby animals.”

   Jack nodded, eating another spoonful of chili.  The beans weren’t so bad anymore, but he still hated the tomatoes.

   “Maybe when we go fishing again, we’ll see some mama ducks with their ducklings,” Jack said between bites.    

   “We might!”  Arthur smiled.  “And maybe we’ll catch some fish and have somethin’ yummy to eat for dinner instead of chili.”

   Jack giggled and Arthur chuckled deep in this throat.  He spooned another heap of chili into his mouth and glanced at Jack’s bowl.  It was over halfway gone, so Arthur slowed his eating as Jack continued to peck at his meal.

   “Arthur!”

   At the sound of his name, Arthur turned to see Dutch approaching the table.

   “Dutch.”

   “I want to talk to you about the stage job,” Dutch said leaning on the table.  “I think I’ve got a plan. Hey, Jack! How’s dinner?”

   “I don’t like it…”  Jack mumbled, not quite looking at Dutch as he stirred his chili.

   “Oh, it’s not that bad!  Pearson is a great cook!”

   Arthur looked at Jack with a cocked eyebrow and Jack looked up at Arthur with a similar, unimpressed expression.

   “I’ll talk after I finish eating,” Arthur said to Dutch.

   “Well hurry.  It’s important.”

   “Yeah, yeah.”

   Dutch began to walk back off to his tent, but not before calling John and Charles over to talk about his new robbery idea.  Both of the other men looked just as wary of Dutch’s enthusiastic beckoning as Arthur

   “Uncle Dutch always has a plan,” Jack said before taking another bite of chili.

   Arthur chuckled at Jack’s remark.  “He certainly does.”

   Arthur was about to take his last bite of chili when he looked at Jack’s bowl.  To his surprise, the boy had just a few more bites left to go. Arthur put his spoon back down in his bowl and drank his water.  Jack’s face was getting more tense, and each bite was taking longer to reach his mouth. But Jack furrowed his brow and scooped more into his mouth, determined to finish the meal.  Sure, it was revolting at his point - the chili was nearly cold and the beans were getting hard and the tomatoes were still so, so sour. Jack just kept telling himself that if Uncle Arthur could do it, so could he, and that he would be just like Uncle Arthur.

   Jack gathered all of his might and shoved the final bite of chili into his mouth.  He forced himself to chew the swallow, taking one last gulp of water to wash it all day.

   “Hey!”  Arthur smiled at Jack with his last bit of chili in his mouth.  “You’re all done!”

   Jack smiled and nodded.  “Yup!”

   “Good job!  I knew you could do it!  Why don’t you go show Mama and get some dessert?”

   Jack beamed as he hopped up from the table with his now empty bowl in hand.  He scampered over to Abigail, waving his bowl in the air. Abigail turned to face Jack and a smile crept onto her face.  Still sitting at the table, Arthur could see Abigail take the bowl from Jack with animated praise and a kiss on the head.  She took Jack’s little hand and lead him to Pearson’s wagon for something for dessert.

   “Arthur!”  Dutch called from his tent.

   “I’m coming!”  Arthur finished off his chili and water before dumping his dishes into the wash bin and trotting off the Dutch’s quarters.  “Can’t even sit done for one meal...”

**Author's Note:**

> Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaw
> 
> Love me some Uncle Arthur content


End file.
